lordofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
xjimbononesx's review against another edition
Not enough time and it was due back at the library
rissasreading's review
3.0
I cannot even begin to describe the feelings I have after finishing this book, nor do I have any recollection of how I got here.
I definitely feel like Lovecraft succeeded at making his own lore, and becoming a staple in horror for his gods, creatures, and landscapes.
However, I cannot stand his lack of descriptions through the use of "I cannot bear to describe", and so on, it felt like such a cop out for a lack of imagination or ability to write the scenes.
There was also a fair amount of repetition between the stories, with a few that stood out. I definitely enjoyed his shorter works compared to his longer ones.
I definitely feel like Lovecraft succeeded at making his own lore, and becoming a staple in horror for his gods, creatures, and landscapes.
However, I cannot stand his lack of descriptions through the use of "I cannot bear to describe", and so on, it felt like such a cop out for a lack of imagination or ability to write the scenes.
There was also a fair amount of repetition between the stories, with a few that stood out. I definitely enjoyed his shorter works compared to his longer ones.
curatoriasol's review
1.0
DNF. I read a few recommended stories and that's it.
I'm almost certain this man was just afraid of everything.
I've enjoyed a lot of things inspired by H.P. Lovecraft but never read any of his work, so I was excited to try.
Turns out I absolutely hate it.
I'm almost certain this man was just afraid of everything.
I've enjoyed a lot of things inspired by H.P. Lovecraft but never read any of his work, so I was excited to try.
Turns out I absolutely hate it.
lazy_humus's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
germancho's review against another edition
3.0
JFC that took forever. Many long years of suffering through Lovecraft's overbearing prose and overt prejudices seeping through every. single. story. hoping for the book to get better (spoiler: it never did) have left me tired and unimpressed.
mh_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
poisonenvy's review
I, like most people, was well aware of H.P. Lovecraft's racism going into this book. Even still, H.P. Lovecraft is long dead, so I don't need to worry so much about the things that would make me hesitate to read a still living author with his views. Canterbury Press puts out absolutely beautiful books (honestly, this book is so pretty that I had to buy it even if I didn't especially want to), and so I'm happy to support them, and I'm interested in Lovecraftian horror as a genre and thought I'd look into its roots a little bit.
I was disappointed on multiple levels in this book. First and foremost was, in fact, the racism. H was under the impression that a lot of Lovecraft fans were shocked! Shocked they say!! when they learned that Lovecraft was an unrepentant racist, and so I assumed that whatever his views were, in his writing's they'd be tone down or disguised. How wrong I was. It's very clearly laid out, in the vilest of terms, what he thinks of people who aren't white. It's not subtle, it's not metaphorical. It's there in clear language on the page.
Even aside from the racism, these weren't <i>great</i>. I found myself bored to tears more often than not (yes, even in the early stories of this collection, before they started expressing the clear racism. I read thirteen stories in this collection of 27, and of those thirteen, only four of them had the very clear racism). There were some stories I enjoyed, like "The Music of Erich Zann" but most of them were flops for me.
Included in the 13 stories I read was the novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" which, frankly, read like a child with a prodigious vocabulary wrote it. "This happened and then this happened and then this happened and then I talked with the general of the cat arm and then I made friends with a ghoul and then these other guys who were mean to me before became my friend! And they let me ride them!" before it finishes off with a love-letter to Boston (which was, admittedly, beautifully written, and was the one thing in the story that seemed to have any sort of feeling behind it).
Also included in the 13 stories was "The Cats of Ulthar" which was actually delightful and my favourite part of the nearly two weeks I spent with this book.
I was disappointed on multiple levels in this book. First and foremost was, in fact, the racism. H was under the impression that a lot of Lovecraft fans were shocked! Shocked they say!! when they learned that Lovecraft was an unrepentant racist, and so I assumed that whatever his views were, in his writing's they'd be tone down or disguised. How wrong I was. It's very clearly laid out, in the vilest of terms, what he thinks of people who aren't white. It's not subtle, it's not metaphorical. It's there in clear language on the page.
Even aside from the racism, these weren't <i>great</i>. I found myself bored to tears more often than not (yes, even in the early stories of this collection, before they started expressing the clear racism. I read thirteen stories in this collection of 27, and of those thirteen, only four of them had the very clear racism). There were some stories I enjoyed, like "The Music of Erich Zann" but most of them were flops for me.
Included in the 13 stories I read was the novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" which, frankly, read like a child with a prodigious vocabulary wrote it. "This happened and then this happened and then this happened and then I talked with the general of the cat arm and then I made friends with a ghoul and then these other guys who were mean to me before became my friend! And they let me ride them!" before it finishes off with a love-letter to Boston (which was, admittedly, beautifully written, and was the one thing in the story that seemed to have any sort of feeling behind it).
Also included in the 13 stories was "The Cats of Ulthar" which was actually delightful and my favourite part of the nearly two weeks I spent with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
kiirocat's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
chiara_13's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75